The Hello Foundation

Insightful Reading

June 9, 2010 by Sharon Soliday

One of our staff members reviewed Motherless Brooklyn by Johnathan Lethem for us. I’m sure you will find her remarks as insightful as I did:

Murder mysteries are not my first pick for leisure reading but this book hooked me from the beginning. I wasn’t motivated to find out “who-done-it”, I was turning page after page to see how Lionel Esserog’s Tourette Syndrome would drive and sabotage him through the plot. It is a fascinating, revealing first-person glimpse into the mind of someone with Tourette Syndrome. Some of Lionel’s thoughts are self-reflective, such as “Tourette’s is just one big lifetime of tag, really. The world (or my brain—same thing) appoints me it, again and again. So I tag back. Can it do otherwise? If you’ve ever been it you know the answer.” At other times you hear the internal dialogue as a tic builds and he bursts forth with something like, “Lionel Essrog. Line-all. Liable Guesscog. Final Escrow.” When I’m in a clinical mindset, I’m focused on the symptoms I can observe, probing for effective strategies, and providing prompts to scaffold to the next level. While I appreciate that my objective drive is part of what makes me a good clinician, I also need to remind myself of the personal aspects of the clinical relationship: the underlying heartache, struggle and frustration that the individual is experiencing in a personal and relentless way with their disorder. Motherless Brooklyn is the type of book that brings me back to empathy.

The Hello Foundation proudly supports children and families in schools, in our clinic, and in your home through online therapy. Our clinicians specialize in Speech-Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, School Psychology, Assistive Technology, Autism Support and Early Intervention.